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10 Voices, 1 Night Of Fun & Music
By Rob Taylor
There are a lot of images connected with music but the
biggest, most easily identifiable one is a “all male a
cappella group”.
Everyone has seen them in movies, college boys; all dressed
the same way and all singing in perfect harmony where the
music is the most important thing!
Well, with Straight No Chaser throw that image out. They
aren’t straight laced or straight faced and the music…well,
although they take the music seriously, it is just part of
the show with comedy and fun being their other components to
their show.
Straight No Chaser are Ryan Ahlwardt, Walter Chase, Jerome
Collins, Seggie Isho, Michael Luginbill, Charlie Mechling,
Dan Ponce. David Roberts, Randy Stine and Tyler Trepp.
Checking around you never know what you are going to get
when you attend a Straight No Chaser show. Song can range
from Barry Manilow ,to Judy Garland and to Coldpay as well
as traditional Christmas songs, which they are previewing on
their website --www.sncmusic.com
According to their website tickets for the November 29th
show at the historic Warner Theatre in downtown Erie are
still available. Showtime is at 7:30 PM. Tickets are $39.50
& $29.50 You can get them by calling (814) 452-4857 or (800)
745-3000 or you can buy them at the Tullio Arena box office
or Ticketmaster outlets.
Ponytail Lights© Brighten Up This Holiday Season
Fun to wear, easy to order and delivered right to your home!
Introducing Ponytails Lights© - the hair accessory that
brightly
 blinks in your favorite colors. Each Ponytail Light
has an on/off switch and batteries last 50 – 60 hours.
Fun to wear, easy to order and delivered right to your home!
Introducing Ponytails Lights© - the hair accessory that
brightly blinks in your favorite colors. Each Ponytail Light
has an on/off switch and batteries last 50 – 60 hours.
They are the perfect holiday gift for your favorite
cheerleader. Coaches can show their appreciation by
outfitting the entire squad with Ponytail Lights.
Ponytail Lights aren’t just for cheerleaders. They are the
perfect accessories to any slumber party, goodie bag or
school spirit event. Ponytail Lights are a great tool for
nighttime safety. Use them as a collar for your dog on
evening walks and wear them around your wrist to help stay
in sight for trick-or-treating or nighttime sports.
Ponytail Lights are $8.99 each or two for $14.99. They are
available in blue, green, red, purple or red/white/blue.
They are on sale now at www.ponytaillights.com. Fundraising
and special orders are also available. You may contact
Ponytail Lights through their website.
Ponytail Lights is proud to support four national charities
this holiday season. You may make a donation of $1 to one of
the following charities, ASPCA, The Wounded Warrior Project,
The Stephanie Spielman Breast Cancer Fund or the Marine Fund
Toys for Tots.
Don’t miss the opportunity to be a trendsetter….be the first
to sport a Ponytail Light!
Scene Of Mental Illness At The EAM
By T.R. Septaric
Most people remember Chris Mars as a very successful
musician who dropped the art of music for a new passion ---
painting!!!
His paintings are not the pretty pictures that a lot of
artists paint. Mars paints haunting images of forsaken
creatures, monsters with deathly grey skin and blood red
lips, skeletons with shreds for flesh hanging from bleached
bones and misfits with haunting eyes which show live and
torture.
Through this uncommon imagery, which repels viewers while it
draws them in, he hopes to create a voice for the voiceless,
to offer love to the loveless and mercy to the condemned and
banished. Mars developed a deep connection to people with
mental illness through personal experiences he had as a
child when a family member suffered from schizophrenia and
the lasting results from the treatment of the condition.
“There are Real Monsters that walk this earth, cruel, evil
people; oppressive, dehumanizing beliefs. The word Monster
in its original application describes a child born with a
physical deformity,” states Mars. “What does it mean that
our society has taken this word now to mean “evil”? All of
this speaks of a shallowness I seek to conquer. My work is
about looking beyond the outer to the inner, and finding
with this the true definition of Beauty—which is beyond
form.”
Chris Mars was the drummer for the alt rock band The
Replacements, and later a member of the ‘supergroup’ Golden
Smog, before giving up music to focus on painting. His works
are in the permanent collections of the Erie Art Museum, the
American Visionary Art Museum, and the many other
institutions.
Auto-Intervention: Paintings by Chris Mars, will run from
now through 1/23/11 in the Erie Art Museum’s Bacon Gallery.
And, in the main gallery:
Hidden in Plain Sight: Art Treasures from Regional
Collections
Great art from collections in NWPA and southwest NY, this
show features masterworks by painters as varied as Jasper
Francis Cropsey, Angelica Kauffmann and Paul Jenkins, a
collection of American Regionalist painters including Thomas
Hart Benton, portraits by John James Audubon and Gilbert
Stuart, a drawing by Benjamin West and many other
outstanding works.
Erie Art Museum Gallery Hours: Tuesday-Saturday from
11am-5pm, Sunday 1pm-5pm. Admission is free for members,
free on Wednesday, $4 for adults, $3 for seniors and
students, $2 for children under 12. One-year membership to
the Erie Art Museum is $20 for seniors and students, $35
individuals and $65 for families. Add $10 to any of the
above levels for a GREEN membership. Guided group tours are
available for adults or students for all major exhibits.
The History Of The Warner Available At
Bookstores
After a decade of research, the story of the last original
Warner Bros. theater has been published. Erie’s Warner
Theatre, first
 opened
on April 10, 1931, has been a center for the region’s
cultural life throughout its 78 year history. Originally
designed as a picture palace and vaudeville house, it
provided a venue for escape from troubles during the
Depression. For decades it was at the center of Erie’s
social life, but as television took hold, it lost much of
its audience and was in danger of closure in the 1970s. Only
with the intervention of Erie’s Mayor Lou Tullio did it
survive the wrecking ball. This story is among the many
tales that “A Picture Palace Transformed: How Erie’s Warner
Theatre Survived a Changing World” presents.
Author Barbara J. Hauck has brought together the building’s
history with stories of the people who managed the theatre
and who enjoyed movies, performances, and special events
within its walls. Based on the works of Edinboro University
professor Dr. John Marsh (deceased), she brings the reader
to the present day and the Warner’s central place as Erie’s
performing arts center. Combining research and interviews
conducted by Brian Sheridan, she adds personal stories
throughout the book. Photos of Erie’s past are coupled with
stunning photographs by Erie photographer Art Becker, making
this book a beautiful and rewarding look at one of Erie’s
historical and cultural centerpieces.
Books are available at Border’s Bookstore, the Erie
Bookstore, and at the Warner Theatre before all
performances. All proceeds from the sale of this book will
be used for the restoration, expansion, and maintenance of
the Warner Theatre. Cost $29.95.
Free Concert Band, Jazz Ensemble
Performances
By Suzanne Scarpino
Two Penn State Behrend student instrumental ensembles will
offer free performances in December.
On Thursday, Dec. 2, the Jazz Ensemble will perform an
evening of standards drawn from the last half century.
Selections include John Coltrane’s “Mr. P.C.,” Lee Morgan’s
“Sidewinder,” and Stan Kenton’s “Malagueña.” The concert
begins at 8 p.m. and will be held in Bruno’s Café, located
on the second floor of the Reed Union Building.
On Wednesday, Dec. 8, the college’s Concert Band will
present a program titled “Folk Tales, the Aural Tradition”
at 8 p.m. in McGarvey Commons, also in the Reed Union
Building. Included on the program will be “Green Bushes” and
“Irish Tune from County Derry” (“Danny Boy”) by Percy
Grainger, Clare Grundman’s “American Folk Rhapsody No. 1,”
and works by Edvard Grieg.
Both groups perform under the direction of Dr. Gary Viebranz,
the college’s director of instrumental programs, and both
performances are free and open to the public. For more
information, phone the School of Humanities and Social
Sciences at 814-898-6108.
Click to View Larger
Xmas Comes To The Station
By Rob Taylor
They say that imitation is the sincerest
form of flattery. I hope that’s true because for the second
show in a row, with The Rat
 Pack
and now Christmas Memories, The Station Dinner Theatre has
imitated the staging, the storyline and lighting exactly
from the 2008, Theatre 145 production of Remembering Janis.
The only differences are the songs and the characters.
This year’s Christmas Memories is called
A Season To Remember and it follows a cleaning woman named
Milly, played by Carrie Smith, who finds a box of playbills,
press clippings and other stuff all related to Christmas
music from the late 1960’s through today. She tells stories
connected to each song and then singers including John
Burton, David Durst, Dave Edmunds, Karen Nasca, Lisa Slezak,
Katie States and Paul Urbanowicz
perform the songs.
There are 18 songs in the show and every
one brings back memories. I guess the title was appropriate.
Urbanowicz wrote the play, if you can call it a play. It is
a major departure from Christmas Memories of the past and it
worked but I would consider it more of a concert than a play
since Milly wasn’t really that important to the show. Smith
did a great job but it felt like it was a part added at the
last minute to break up the music.
Now, these are some of the best singers
in the area…they really are and most of the songs were
really fantastic but there was one singer who is NOT listed
on the playbill and she only did one song, When Christmas
Comes To Town, but during that one song she owned the stage,
even taking it away from Paul Urbanowicz who sang the song
with her. Her name is Adria and that is all you know about
her…and that is too bad.
The final song of the night was Let There
Be Peace On Earth and the entire cast did really great
singing it but where was Smith and Adria? I know that Smith
was playing the piano but they used canned music for almost
everything else why not that and have Smith on stage with
the rest of the cast? And why not Adria? She was part of the
cast but she was left out of the last song….not fair Paul!
Am I going to recommend the show…yes. It
is a good way to get into the holiday spirit. It has great
performers and great memorable music and besides that the
roast beef they serve just melts in your mouth and they have
corn chowder that is just to die for!!!!
Check out
www.cabterburyfeast.com
for tickets or more info.
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